ASUU is Unreasonable!

A Nigerian University

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) will never stop asking for increments, but increase in salaries is not what is urgent in Nigerian universities, but re-engineering the entire academic system from the classroom to the laboratory.

Ineffectual lecturers in ASUU are also clamouring for increments, but they do not have the brains to overhaul and improve the outdated curriculums of their respective faculties. The increments they have been receiving over the years have not freed them from the retrogressive academic stasis that has made majority of their students clones of intellectual underdevelopment or what I call the GIGO Generation who are presently posing and posturing as the Nigerian Facebook Generation.
These lecturers should examine themselves, because many of the members of ASUU are not even qualified to teach and have been found guilty by complicity in various cases of admission racket in Nigerian universities.

The raison d'être of ASUU’s strike is not enough to waste the precious quality time of Nigerian students who need to be on campus studying and not at home!
By going on strike ASUU is making innocent students the scapegoats of their disagreement with the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN).

What is the business of the FGN with the members of ASUU employed by the state owned universities? I mean members of ASUU teaching at the state universities should not have gone on strike with ASUU. This is simple ratiocination.
Many of these lecturers are even moonlighting and have never paid a kobo of tax every time they moonlighted. So who is fooling whom?

Chidi Amuta wrote a very comprehensive analysis of the genesis of the academic crisis that has left the Nigerian academia in intellectual stasis in his “ASSU’s Untidy Robes” published in his column Engagements in This Day newspaper of Nigeria.
ASUU should grow up and stop behaving like confused junior high school pupils.

The Untold Truth About the Niger Delta Crisis

The Untold Truth About the Niger Delta Crisis

• MEND is not responsible for the Niger Delta Crisis
• The Nigerian Government and Multinational Oil Companies are responsible for the Niger Delta Crisis
• The Solution to the Niger Delta Crisis is the Administration of True Federal Democracy as Practiced by the United States of America.

In 2004 as I was aggrieved by the rampant cases of cultism and gangesterism in Rivers state and the destruction of innocent lives and properties, I felt the urgency to address the critical issues and meet with the leading principal actors I could reach and persuade them to end the violence. I informed the international headquarters of Shell of my pacific mission before I left Lagos for Port Harcourt on a night coach.

I arrived Diobu at midnight and was told that the town was a danger zone after the mayhem caused by warring cultists. But I went on to the residence of my elder sister Mrs. P William-West on Nnewi Street in Rumumasi. I discussed my mission with her two sons and daughters and one of my nephews told me that he had to leave a cult when he saw one of his closest friends shot and killed in a violent clash with a rival cult in the oil city of Port Harcourt in 2003. I told him I was glad he had become born-again as he confessed. He gave me the details of the genesis of the cultism ravaging Rivers state since they were affected by the violence from their home town in Buguma to the state capital of Port Harcourt. I stayed for a couple of days and crossed over to Bonny Island to continue my investigation and pre-production of my documentary on the causes and consequences of the Niger Delta crisis aggravated by the recruitment of many members of the cults as political thugs of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

From my safe haven on Bonny Island, I contacted an insider named Felix and told him of my critical mission and we agreed to meet at a popular hotel off Olu Obasanjo Road in Port Harcourt. He told me that Shell and the other multinational oil companies operating in the littoral states of the Niger Delta were not interested in peace, but to fish in the troubled waters, because they had little or nothing to lose. They were breaching the contract of the MOU they signed with the Federal Republic of Nigeria and they did not care about the devastation of the eco-system or the deprivations of the host communities.
Their cosmetic social community welfare projects and scholarships were only meant to white-wash their horrible and terrible acts since they began oil exploration in the Niger Delta region. I found out that the hotel was owned by a retired Major in the Nigerian Army and he has been actively engaged in illegal oil bunkering with other retired and active senior military officers, especial those in the Nigerian Navy and their criminal activities were not secret. Those engaged in illegal oil bunkering and those who acquired oil blocks were partners in crime and were well known title-holders in their respective communities. In fact my in-law Asari Dokubo, the leader of the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force (NDPVF) had a suite in the hotel.

I returned to Bonny Island and called Asari and we discussed on how to put an end to the violence and he told me that he was already now engaged in providing security service for the oil service companies in the region and was no longer engaged in any violent dispute with any rival cult or gang. I was glad to hear that and told Felix that Asari would fare better as a leader by contesting in a democratic election and could in fact be elected as the governor of Rivers state.
“He only needs to improve his manner of dressing and public relations,” I said.
I was glad that Asari would be willing to participate in my documentary film and commended the website Akumafiete of the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force

I was meeting with a top official of the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in Lagos, because Shell wanted to sponsor my documentary film and in fact the top official asked me if the documentary could be produced in a week, which was not realistic, even though I was working with one of the best filmmakers in Nigeria who has won awards for his documentaries.

I was still making progress when the Nigerian government ordered for the arrest of Asari Dokubo and detained him for outrageous statements of treasonable felony. I warned the government to release him or the situation in the volatile Niger Delta region would become worse. But the government ignored my warning and the SPDC now felt that the government had succeeded in caging the lion of the Niger Delta militants and thought the unconstitutional detention of Asari Dokubo would tame the thousands of members of the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force and allied groups. But I warned the government there was a greater militant group in the offing and they thought I was joking until the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) shot up from the creeks!

The solution to the protracted Niger Delta crisis is the administration of true Federal Democracy as practiced by the United States of America and this is what both MEND and NDPVF have been demanding for and also the prosecution of all the retired and serving senior military officers found guilty of illegal oil bunkering.
The Nigerian Navy can actually stop illegal oil bunkering by asking for the assistance of the US Navy to patrol the territorial waters of Nigeria and to attack all tankers, boats and barges engaged in illegal oil bunkering since they can be easily identified from the authorized tankers and vessels on Nigerian waters.
Then the multinational oil companies must be prosecuted for the violations of the MOU they signed with the Federal Republic of Nigeria since 1956 to date.

The Joint Task Force of the Nigerian Armed Forces in the Niger Delta should be withdraw, because it an unconstitutional mission.
All licenses of illegal oil blocks must be withdrawn.
The local and foreign bank accounts of Nigerians suspected of ill-gotten wealth from misappropriations of revenue allocations for the oil producing states and over-invoicing of government contracts should investigated and those found guilty should be prosecuted in a public trial and not behind closed doors.

The former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, the former governor of Bayelsa State and Obasanjo's successor, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua have the full list of the criminals who are still engaged in illegal oil bunkering in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

Nigerian Investors Should Be As Ambitious As The American Investors

The NSE

Nigerian investors should be as ambitious as the American investors who have gone online and invested over $32.2billion into two major online brokerages, TD Ameritrade and Charles Schwab.

Zecco for example is a good online brokerage and offers start from $4.50 per trade.


The Best Online Brokers.

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Breaking News: Michael Jackson's Hair From Fateful Pepsi Commercial: Part of Pop Culture History Soon to Become Diamonds

24 Jul 2009 17:11 Africa/Lagos

Michael Jackson's Hair From Fateful Pepsi Commercial: Part of Pop Culture History Soon to Become Diamonds

CHICAGO, July 24 /PRNewswire/ -- When executive producer Ralph Cohen scooped up the charred hair Michael Jackson lost in the filming of the now-infamous Pepsi commercial, he had no idea that he was saving an important piece of history.


(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090724/CG51565)


Now, this closest connection to Jackson himself is being preserved by John Reznikoff one of America's most highly respected collectors, and being used by LifeGem the world's first purveyor of diamond memorials to create high quality diamonds.


Cohen, executive producer for the Pepsi commercial, was among the first to reach Jackson when he was set on fire.


As seen on the now famous video, Cohen threw his jacket over Jackson's head to help extinguish the flames. As Jackson was being rushed off the set and to the hospital, Cohen instinctively, picked up the charred lock of hair and put it in his pocket- where it remained undisturbed for 25 years until Jackson's death last month.


"The provenance and authenticity of this lock of hair is impeccable, including the highly publicized video showing the original owner of the hair using his Armani jacket to extinguish Jackson's hair, said John Reznikoff. "This jacket was included with the purchase of the hair."


A portion will remain in Reznikoff's collection. Another portion is being used by Chicago-based LifeGem to create a small number of certified, high quality laboratory diamonds.


Back in 2007 LifeGem & Reznikoff collaborated to successfully create diamonds from Beethoven's hair.


"LifeGem specializes in creating diamonds from locks of hair, our plan is to give people an opportunity to own a diamond made from Michael Jackson's DNA," said Dean VandenBiesen founder of LifeGem. "We are currently evaluating the hair sample to determine how many diamonds can be created. This will be a limited collection and we anticipate great interest."


Reznikoff has assembled the most extensive collection of hair from history's most famous figures, including Lincoln, Kennedy, Einstein and Marilyn Monroe.


Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090724/CG51565
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN3
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: LifeGem

CONTACT: Dean VandenBiesen of LifeGem, 1-866-543-3436, dean@lifegem.com;
or John Reznikoff of University Archives, +1-203-247-1155,
john@universityarchives.com


Web Site: http://www.lifegem.com/
http://www.universityarchives.com/


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Dear Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase, Akin Alabi and Co. Limited

Dear Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase and Akin Alabi and Co. Limited,

May I know how much the get-rich-quick tutorials and schemes of Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase and Akin Alabi have contributed to the GDP and GNP of Nigeria or improved the per capita income in Nigeria?

"The challenge for Nigeria is in terms of per capita income, which is still low. Nigeria is still facing widespread poverty and infrastructure deficiency. And on the policy side, the country is in a critical juncture."
~ Mr. Konrad Reuss, Managing Director of S&P in charge of South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa.

Country GDP - per capita (US Dollar)
Afghanistan $800 (2008 est.)
Albania $6,000 (2008 est.)
Algeria $7,000 (2008 est.)
American Samoa $8,000 (2007 est.)
Andorra $42,500 (2007)
Angola $8,800 (2008 est.)
Anguilla $8,800 (2004 est.)
Antigua and Barbuda $19,000 (2008 est.)
Argentina $14,200 (2008 est.)
Armenia $6,400 (2008 est.)
Aruba $21,800 (2004 est.)
Australia $38,100 (2008 est.)
Austria $39,200 (2008 est.)
Azerbaijan $9,000 (2008 est.)
Bahamas, The $28,600 (2008 est.)
Bahrain $37,200 (2008 est.)
Bangladesh $1,500 (2008 est.)
Barbados $19,300 (2008 est.)
Belarus $11,800 (2008 est.)
Belgium $37,500 (2008 est.)
Belize $8,600 (2008 est.)
Benin $1,500 (2008 est.)
Bermuda $69,900 (2004 est.)
Bhutan $5,600 (2008 est.)
Bolivia $4,500 (2008 est.)
Bosnia and Herzegovina $6,500 (2008 est.)
Botswana $13,300 (2008 est.)
Brazil $10,100 (2008 est.)
British Virgin Islands $38,500 (2004 est.)
Brunei $53,100 (2008 est.)
Bulgaria $12,900 (2008 est.)
Burkina Faso $1,200 (2008 est.)
Burma $1,200 (2008 est.)
Burundi $400 (2008 est.)
Cambodia $2,000 (2008 est.)
Cameroon $2,300 (2008 est.)
Canada $39,300 (2008 est.)
Cape Verde $3,800 (2008 est.)
Cayman Islands $43,800 (2004 est.)
Central African Republic $700 (2008 est.)
Chad $1,600 (2008 est.)
Chile $14,900 (2008 est.)
China $6,000 (2008 est.)
Colombia $8,900 (2008 est.)
Comoros $1,000 (2008 est.)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the $300 (2008 est.)
Congo, Republic of the $4,000 (2008 est.)
Cook Islands $9,100 (2005 est.)
Costa Rica $11,600 (2008 est.)
Cote d'Ivoire $1,700 (2008 est.)
Croatia $16,100 (2008 est.)
Cuba $9,500 (2008 est.)
Cyprus $28,600 (2008 est.)
Czech Republic $26,100 (2008 est.)
Denmark $37,400 (2008 est.)
Djibouti $3,700 (2008 est.)
Dominica $9,900 (2008 est.)
Dominican Republic $8,100 (2008 est.)
Ecuador $7,500 (2008 est.)
Egypt $5,400 (2008 est.)
El Salvador $6,200 (2008 est.)
Equatorial Guinea $31,400 (2008 est.)
Eritrea $700 (2008 est.)
Estonia $21,200 (2008 est.)
Ethiopia $800 (2008 est.)
European Union $33,400 (2008 est.)
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) $35,400 (2002 est.)
Faroe Islands $31,000 (2001 est.)
Fiji $3,900 (2008 est.)
Finland $37,200 (2008 est.)
France $32,700 (2008 est.)
French Polynesia $18,000 (2004 est.)
Gabon $14,400 (2008 est.)
Gambia, The $1,300 (2008 est.)
Gaza Strip $2,900 (includes West Bank) (2008 est.)
Georgia $4,700 (2008 est.)
Germany $34,800 (2008 est.)
Ghana $1,500 (2008 est.)
Gibraltar $38,200 (2005 est.)
Greece $32,000 (2008 est.)
Greenland $20,000 (2001 est.)
Grenada $13,400 (2008 est.)
Guam $15,000 (2005 est.)
Guatemala $5,200 (2008 est.)
Guernsey $44,600 (2005)
Guinea $1,100 (2008 est.)
Guinea-Bissau $600 (2008 est.)
Guyana $3,900 (2008 est.)
Haiti $1,300 (2008 est.)
Honduras $4,400 (2008 est.)
Hong Kong $43,800 (2008 est.)
Hungary $19,800 (2008 est.)
Iceland $39,900 (2008 est.)
India $2,800 (2008 est.)
Indonesia $3,900 (2008 est.)
Iran $12,800 (2008 est.)
Iraq $4,000 (2008 est.)
Ireland $46,200 (2008 est.)
Isle of Man $35,000 (2005 est.)
Israel $28,200 (2008 est.)
Italy $31,000 (2008 est.)
Jamaica $7,400 (2008 est.)
Japan $34,200 (2008 est.)
Jersey $57,000 (2005 est.)
Jordan $5,000 (2008 est.)
Kazakhstan $11,500 (2008 est.)
Kenya $1,600 (2008 est.)
Kiribati $3,200 (2008 est.)
Korea, North $1,700 (2008 est.)
Korea, South $26,000 (2008 est.)
Kosovo $2,300 (2007 est.)
Kuwait $57,400 (2008 est.)
Kyrgyzstan $2,100 (2008 est.)
Laos $2,100 (2008 est.)
Latvia $17,800 (2008 est.)
Lebanon $11,100 (2008 est.)
Lesotho $1,600 (2008 est.)
Liberia $500 (2008 est.)
Libya $14,400 (2008 est.)
Liechtenstein $118,000 (2007 est.)
Lithuania $17,700 (2008 est.)
Luxembourg $81,100 (2008 est.)
Macau $30,000 (2007)
Macedonia $9,000 (2008 est.)
Madagascar $1,000 (2008 est.)
Malawi $800 (2008 est.)
Malaysia $15,300 (2008 est.)
Maldives $5,000 (2008 est.)
Mali $1,200 (2008 est.)
Malta $24,200 (2008 est.)
Marshall Islands $2,500 (2008 est.)
Mauritania $2,100 (2008 est.)
Mauritius $12,100 (2008 est.)
Mayotte $4,900 (2005 est.)
Mexico $14,200 (2008 est.)
Micronesia, Federated States of $2,200 (2008 est.)
Moldova $2,500 (2008 est.)
Monaco $30,000 (2006 est.)
Mongolia $3,200 (2008 est.)
Montenegro $9,700 (2008 est.)
Montserrat $3,400 (2002 est.)
Morocco $4,000 (2008 est.)
Mozambique $900 (2008 est.)
Namibia $5,400 (2008 est.)
Nauru $5,000 (2005 est.)
Nepal $1,100 (2008 est.)
Netherlands $40,300 (2008 est.)
Netherlands Antilles $16,000 (2004 est.)
New Caledonia $15,000 (2003 est.)
New Zealand $27,900 (2008 est.)
Nicaragua $2,900 (2008 est.)
Niger $700 (2008 est.)
Nigeria $2,300 (2008 est.)
Niue $5,800 (2003 est.)
Northern Mariana Islands $12,500 (2000 est.)
Norway $55,200 (2008 est.)
Oman $20,200 (2008 est.)
Pakistan $2,600 (2008 est.)
Palau $8,100 (2008 est.)
Panama $11,600 (2008 est.)
Papua New Guinea $2,200 (2008 est.)
Paraguay $4,200 (2008 est.)
Peru $8,400 (2008 est.)
Philippines $3,300 (2008 est.)
Poland $17,300 (2008 est.)
Portugal $22,000 (2008 est.)
Puerto Rico $17,800 (2008 est.)
Qatar $103,500 (2008 est.)
Romania $12,200 (2008 est.)
Russia $15,800 (2008 est.)
Rwanda $900 (2008 est.)
Saint Helena $2,500 (1998 est.)
Saint Kitts and Nevis $19,700 (2008 est.)
Saint Lucia $11,300 (2008 est.)
Saint Pierre and Miquelon $7,000 (2001 est.)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines $10,500 (2008 est.)
Samoa $4,900 (2008 est.)
San Marino $41,900 (2007)
Sao Tome and Principe $1,300 (2008 est.)
Saudi Arabia $20,700 (2008 est.)
Senegal $1,600 (2008 est.)
Serbia $10,900 (2008 est.)
Seychelles $17,000 (2008 est.)
Sierra Leone $700 (2008 est.)
Singapore $52,000 (2008 est.)
Slovakia $21,900 (2008 est.)
Slovenia $29,500 (2008 est.)
Solomon Islands $1,900 (2008 est.)
Somalia $600 (2008 est.)
South Africa $10,000 (2008 est.)
Spain $34,600 (2008 est.)
Sri Lanka $4,300 (2008 est.)
Sudan $2,200 (2008 est.)
Suriname $8,900 (2008 est.)
Swaziland $5,100 (2008 est.)
Sweden $38,500 (2008 est.)
Switzerland $40,900 (2008 est.)
Syria $4,800 (2008 est.)
Taiwan $31,900 (2008 est.)
Tajikistan $2,100 (2008 est.)
Tanzania $1,300 (2008 est.)
Thailand $8,500 (2008 est.)
Timor-Leste $2,400 (2008 est.)
Togo $900 (2008 est.)
Tokelau $1,000 (1993 est.)
Tonga $4,600 (2008 est.)
Trinidad and Tobago $18,600 (2008 est.)
Tunisia $7,900 (2008 est.)
Turkey $12,000 (2008 est.)
Turkmenistan $6,100 (2008 est.)
Turks and Caicos Islands $11,500 (2002 est.)
Tuvalu $1,600 (2002 est.)
Uganda $1,100 (2008 est.)
Ukraine $6,900 (2008 est.)
United Arab Emirates $40,000 (2008 est.)
United Kingdom $36,600 (2008 est.)
United States $47,000 (2008 est.)
Uruguay $12,200 (2008 est.)
Uzbekistan $2,600 (2008 est.)
Vanuatu $4,600 (2008 est.)
Venezuela $13,500 (2008 est.)
Vietnam $2,800 (2008 est.)
Virgin Islands $14,500 (2004 est.)
Wallis and Futuna $3,800 (2004 est.)
West Bank $2,900 (includes Gaza Strip) (2008 est.)
Western Sahara $2,500 (2007 est.)
World $10,500 (2008 est.)
Yemen $2,400 (2008 est.)
Zambia $1,500 (2008 est.)
Zimbabwe $200 (2008 est.)

Copyright © 2000 Tong Siak Henn. Last modified on Friday, July 24, 2009

Pastor(Dr.) Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase has been successful as the leading Publisher of Complete Sports and Success Digest and the founder of the Success Attitude Development Centre(SADC), but he has said that the majority of his students have not succeeded after graduation and he blames them for failing to practice what he taught them. But what does he expect from them when most of them have not been taught the difference between get-rich-quick schemes and human capital development.
The key to real success is not get-rich-quick schemes, but creating jobs and creating wealth. Looking for short-cuts to financial success by sharp practices online is a negative way to making it in life.

A student of SADC who has made about $40, 000 at 24 is claiming to be the youngest millionaire in Nigeria! Such erroneous and ambiguous notions have only exposed the narrow-mindedness their get-rich-quick mentors and the shallow promises of their formulae.

The only way to fast track the Vision 2020 is to develop enterprises that will create jobs for the millions of the unemployed in Nigeria and only by job creation can we create real wealth and not endorsing and promoting get-rich-quick schemes online under various labels and tags.

There is no difference between the so called smart Alec who manipulates the Google AdSense program to rip-off the advertisers and earn regular pay-offs from the sharp practices and the notorious 419 Yahoo-Yahoo Internet scammers.
So who is fooling whom?

We should encourage Nigerians to study and work hard in developing businesses that would be beneficial to the majority of Nigerians in the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs) and the realization of the Vision 2020 of Nigeria.

There are no short-cuts to success, even if you win the million dollar lottery or Baba Ijebu lotto.
Having only N10 million in your bank account does not mean you are successful until you have used that money to make positive impact in your family, community and country and not engaged in the selfish acquisition of the status symbols of the rat race to catch up with the Joneses.

Obama More Popular With Investors Outside U.S.: Bloomberg Poll

23 Jul 2009 14:32 Africa/Lagos

Obama More Popular With Investors Outside U.S.: Bloomberg Poll

NEW YORK, July 23 /PRNewswire/ -- President Barack Obama has overwhelming support among the world's most influential investors outside of his own country, according to the first-ever Bloomberg Global Poll, a quarterly survey of economic, financial and political attitudes among Bloomberg users around the world.


The first Bloomberg Global Poll interviewed a random sample of 1,076 subscribers to the BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL(R) service, a universe of more than 300,000 decision makers in finance, the markets and economics. The survey provides a window on how this valuable community of investors views the prospects for economic recovery, investment opportunities and risks in the wake of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.


87 percent of investors surveyed in Europe and Asia say they approve of Obama, compared to just 49 percent in the U.S. Obama's standing among American investors is even lower on economic matters: Only a quarter of respondents rate his policies favorably, compared with more than half in Europe and Asia. Climate change also ranked differently for investors in the U.S. than investors elsewhere. 61 percent in Asia said higher global temperatures and sea levels are a major problem and 56 percent in Europe agreed, while almost two-thirds in the U.S. say climate change is a minor danger or no real threat, according to survey results, which are available at www.bloomberg.com.


The Bloomberg Global Poll was conducted by Selzer & Company, whose survey of Iowa Caucus voters in 2008 was the only one to accurately predict Barack Obama's victory. The firm has conducted surveys for more than two dozen major newspapers in the U.S., and was named the best of 32 polling firms ranked by polling Web site FiveThirtyEight.com.


About Bloomberg


Bloomberg is the source of critical information and tools with which to analyze, customize and use it. The BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL service and Bloomberg's media services deliver data, news and analytics that create transparency and allow users to transform knowledge into success.


The BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL Service


The BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL service combines the best market intelligence and powerful analytics, allowing users to view, compare and contrast information in a way that they can tailor to their needs. The all-inclusive BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL service delivers instantaneous data, prices, charting, searchable documents, workflow utilities and critical news integrated with analytics, trading, communication and order management tools. Subscribers can access their BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL service from their desktops, laptops and mobile devices.


Bloomberg Media Services


Bloomberg's media services cover the world with more than 2,200 news and multimedia professionals at 145 bureaus in 68 countries. Five hundred media organizations subscribe to BLOOMBERG NEWS content, which is integrated onto the BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL service. The BLOOMBERG TELEVISION 24-hour network reaches more than 200 million homes around the world. BLOOMBERG RADIO services broadcast via XM, Sirius and WorldSpace satellite radio globally and on WBBR 1130AM in New York. The award-winning monthly BLOOMBERG MARKETS magazine, the BLOOMBERG.COM financial news and information Web site and BLOOMBERG PRESS books provide news and insight to investors. For more information, please visit http://www.bloomberg.com/.


The BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL service and data products are owned and distributed by Bloomberg Finance L.P. (BFLP) except that Bloomberg L.P. and its subsidiaries (BLP) distribute these products in Argentina, Bermuda, China, India, Japan and Korea. BFLP owns and distributes Bloomberg Markets Magazine. BLP provides BFLP with global marketing and operational support and services. Bloomberg Tradebook is distributed by Bloomberg Tradebook LLC and its subsidiaries. BLP owns and distributes Bloomberg Television, Bloomberg Radio, the Bloomberg Website and Bloomberg Press.


BLOOMBERG, BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL, BLOOMBERG MARKETS, BLOOMBERG NEWS, BLOOMBERG ANYWHERE, BLOOMBERG TRADEBOOK, BLOOMBERG BONDTRADER, BLOOMBERG TELEVISION, BLOOMBERG RADIO, BLOOMBERG PRESS and BLOOMBERG.COM are trademarks and service marks of Bloomberg Finance L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, or its subsidiaries. BTV is a trademark and service mark of Bloomberg L.P., a Delaware limited partnership. All rights reserved.


Source: Bloomberg

CONTACT: Angela Martin of Bloomberg LP, +1-212-617-1211,
angelamartin@bloomberg.net


Web Site: http://www.bloomberg.com/


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Publics Want More Aggressive Government Action on Economic Crisis: Global Poll

21 Jul 2009 22:00 Africa/Lagos

Publics Want More Aggressive Government Action on Economic Crisis: Global Poll

COLLEGE PARK, Md., July 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new poll by WorldPublicOpinion.org finds that the public in 14 of 19 nations surveyed feel their government's efforts to address the economic crisis do not go far enough. Three additional publics lean to this view. Most publics favor government support for troubled companies and a global body that would monitor large financial institutions.


However, nations differ on whether, in the current crisis, their government should put up new trade barriers to protect domestic industries.


A majority or plurality in nearly every nation polled faults their government for not doing enough to remedy the economic crisis. Across all nations, an average of 56 percent say their "government's efforts to address the current economic crisis do not go far enough;" 25 percent say they "are about right"; and only 15 percent say these efforts "go too far."


The notable exceptions to the desire for governments to do more are the Chinese public (63% feel government efforts "are about right") and India, where as many think efforts "go too far" (37%) as think they "do not go far enough" (36%; 21% say "about right").


"People around the world want more robust action from their governments in the face of the economic crisis", says Stephen Weber of WorldPublicOpinion.org. "Only in China and India, rare countries still on a growth track, do the public seem content with policy."


Government action to provide financial support for large industries in trouble is widely supported, with majorities in most nations taking the position that "if they fail it damages the general economy and too many people lose their jobs." The American public, alone among nations polled, opposes government financial intervention.


WorldPublicOpinion.org conducted the poll of 18,066 respondents between April 4 and June 12, 2009 (margins of error +/- 3-4%) in 19 nations that comprise 62 percent of the world's population (China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Mexico, Germany, Great Britain, France, Poland, Ukraine, Kenya, Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, the Palestinian territories, and South Korea). Polling was also conducted in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.


WorldPublicOpinion.org, a collaborative project of research centers worldwide, is managed by the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland.


For more information, please visit www.worldpublicopinion.org


Source: Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland

CONTACT: Stephen Weber, WorldPublicOpinion.org, +1-202-232-7500


Web Site: http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/

Advocates for Health Millennium Development Goals Unite to Demand World Leaders Honor Funding Commitments

21 Jul 2009 12:17 Africa/Lagos

Advocates for Health Millennium Development Goals Unite to Demand World Leaders Honor Funding Commitments

Found: Hundreds of Billions of Dollars to Save the Wealthiest Corporations Lost: Billions of Dollars of G8 Commitments to Save Millions of Human Lives

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, July 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In an unprecedented and historic show of unity, advocates for all the health Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have charged the leaders of G-8 countries with reneging on their commitments to health by chronically underfunding programs for AIDS, TB, maternal and child health, sexual and reproductive health, and health systems strengthening across the globe.


The coalition of advocates demands that world leaders make the health of men, women, and children around the world as important a priority as the health of banks, Wall Street investment firms, and auto companies and calls on donor governments to partner with civil society to strengthen accountability from recipient countries.


"We are already seeing people die and families forced further into poverty by healthcare costs as a direct result of this global economic crisis," said Dr. Lola Dare, Executive Secretary of the African Council for Sustainable Health Development (ACOSHED). "The fickle policy decisions of world leaders and national government are further compounding these problems. The global health community is speaking with one voice on this urgent need. We can no longer permit the world to be distracted by false choices -- between one disease and another, between a mother's life and that of her children, between treating sick people now, in their home communities, and building sustainable health systems for the future to deliver basic health care that can save lives."


"Investments now in HIV and health broadly are fundamental prerequisites for global development," said Julio Montaner, President of the International AIDS Society.


The global economic downturn is leading to significant backsliding in governments' commitments to funding for health programs in developing countries. "The rhetoric by heads of state at this year's G-8 summit was, as usual, noble and righteous. They produced statements about their support for health systems strengthening, maternal and child health, and integrated health service delivery," said Gregg Gonsalves, a co-founder of the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition. "But, as has come to be the unfortunate pattern, the financial commitments made by the most powerful of the world were unacceptably low or worse, not made at all."


"At least a million additional lives are in jeopardy because of this economic crisis. We are calling for the world's richest countries to support their words with concrete action and back up their promises with the money necessary to fulfill them," said Ann Starrs, President of Family Care International.


"We estimate that to meet the promised health needs of less developed countries would take an increased investment by high income countries and developing country governments of around $150 billion a year(1). The AIG bailout alone was $170 billion," said Brook Baker, Professor of Law at Northeastern University and Policy Analyst for the US-based Health GAP. "Or to look at it another way, for 36% of what countries have spent in one year on direct bailouts of corporate and financial interests, rich countries alone could fully fund the additional $944 billion that we estimate is needed from now through 2015 to meet all MDG and health systems strengthening needs in less developed countries." Developed countries have so far contributed over $2.5 trillion in direct bailouts and over $6 trillion in 'guarantees.'(2)


"All we seem to be getting from the bailouts so far is record level projected bonus payouts for Wall Street," added Gonsalves. "But we know with one hundred percent certainty that many more people will die in 2010 because of this bailout, probably 100 times as many as the 13,000 Goldman Sachs employees who are projected to get compensation of over $500,000 each."


The coalition of global health advocates demands that each G-8 country pays 100% of the commitments they have made for 2010 including: for Universal Access to AIDS treatment, prevention, and care; full funding for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; as well as additional commitments made for maternal child health and health systems strengthening.


"The fact that governments have quickly passed legislation to bailout the banks and companies that created this global financial crisis proves that there is sufficient capital to support those whose lives have been most affected by the crisis. What is needed is sufficient will," said Donna Barry of Partners In Health in the USA.


The U.S. President's Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has been flat funded for three years; the G-8 countries have underfunded the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria by $4 to 9 billion; donor country promises to fund maternal and child health and sexual and reproductive health programs are wholly insufficient to the task; and no G-8 country has made sufficient commitments to contribute significantly to expanding and strengthening the health workforce, to supporting community-based prevention and care, or to strengthening health systems and health infrastructure.


"The global economic situation cannot be used as an excuse to renege on financial commitments," said Kieran Daly, Executive Director of the International Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO). "Hundreds of billions of dollars, pounds, and euros magically appeared to bail out global financial markets and corporations. We do not want to believe that this bailout came at the cost of millions of human lives."


"The only way we will make real progress on meeting the MDGs is for donor countries to engage with developing country governments, and for developing country governments to commit financially and politically to revitalizing their national health systems to meet the challenges of HIV, sexual and reproductive health, maternal health, child survival and other health problems. Governments also can not forget that before 2015, they have other goals to meet, including UNGASS-AIDS 2010 and the Cairo Plan of Action," said Alessandra Nilo of GESTOS in Brazil.


Leaders representing advocates for more than 25 organizations focused on AIDS, TB, maternal and child health, sexual and reproductive health and primary health care came together in Stony Point, New York in May 2009 to initiate a partnership devoted to advocating for the universal right to health. A Declaration of Solidarity for a Unified Movement for the Right to Health was drafted at that meeting, and is being endorsed by health and human rights organizations around the world(3). This growing union of advocates, many of whom are signed on to this document, is now working in solidarity to hold the powers of the world accountable.


"We are all health and human rights advocates and we refuse to be pitted against each other," said Paula Akugizibwe of the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa, "MDGs are simply categories of different needs that exist within the same human being. The same mother who needs ART to prevent the transmission of HIV to her infant also needs adequate nutrition and her children need clean water and immunizations. The same community that needs infection control for TB also needs it for influenza; and insufficient financial and human resources for health may prevent them from having any of these rights fulfilled."


Following is the initial group of health organizations supporting this statement:


A la Alianza Nacional "Campana por una Convencion Interamericana de los Derechos Sexuales y Derechos Reproductivos" - Bolivia


ABIA - Brazil
ACCSI - Accion Ciudadana Contra el SIDA, Venezuela,
African Council for Sustainable Health Development (ACOSHED)
African Council of AIDS Service Organizations (AfriCASO)
African CS Partnership for Health Systems Strengthening
AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa
AIDS and Society Research Unit, University of Cape Town
Aids Fonds
AIDS-Free World

Alianza Nacional de Grupos de Personas que viven con VIH o sida de Guatemala


Alianza Nacional de Hombres Gay, Trans y Hombres que Tienen Sexo Con Hombres (A-GTH) - Dominican Republic


Amigos Siempre Amigos (ASA) - Dominican Republic


Asamblea Nacional de ONG's y Organizaciones Sociales con trabajo en SIDA (ASOSIDA) - Chile


ASEPO - Uruguay
Asian Pacific Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS
Asociacion Nacional de Personas Positivas Vida Nueva - El Salvador
Asociacion Vida - Guatemala
Balance Promocion para el Desarrollo y Juventud - Mexico
BRAC
Caribbean Treatment Access Group
Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition
Catolicas por el Derecho a Decidir - Mexico
Center for Health and Gender Equity
Central African Treatment Access Group
Centre for Health Sciences Training, Research and Development (CHESTRAD)
Centro de Informacion y Desarrollo de la Mujer - CIDEM.- Bolivia

Centro de Promocion y Defensa por los Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos (PROMSEX) -Peru


CNS Mujeres - Uruguay
Colectiva Mujer y Salud - Dominican Republic
Colectiva por el Derecho a Decidir - Costa Rica
Colectivo Feminista Mujeres Universitarias.- Honduras
Colectivo TLGB de Bolivia

Comunicacion, Intercambio y Desarrollo Humano en America Latina A. C. -CIDHAL A.C.


Convergencia de Mujeres - Honduras
Cordaid
Corporacion Chilena de Prevencion del SIDA (ACCIONGAY) - Chile
East African Treatment Access Movement (EATAM)
El Closet de Sor Juana, Mexico
Equidad de Genero: Ciudadania, Trabajo y Familia A.C - Mexico
Family Care International
FEIM - Argentina
Foro de Mujeres y Politicas de Poblacion - Mexico
Forum de Ong Aids do Estado de Sao Paulo - Brazil
Fundacion Arcoiris pro el Respeto a la Diversidad Sexual - Mexico
Fundacion Buenos Aires SIDA - Argentina
Fundacion Igualdad LGBT - Bolivia
Fundacion REDVIHDA - Bolivia
GAPA-SP
GAPA/RS - Brazil
GAPA/SP - Brazil
GESTOS - Soropositivity, Communication and Gender Issues - Brazil
GRUPAJUS - Brazil
Grupo De Antropologia Medica Critica Universidad Nacional De Colombia
Grupo de Informacion en Reproduccion Elegida (GIRE) - Mexico
Guyana Human Rights Association. - Guyana
Health & Development Networks (HDN)
Health care is not for Commerce - LAC
Health GAP
Helene De Beir Foundation - Belgium
Instituto para el Desarrollo Humano - Bolivia
International AIDS Society
International Civil Society Support
International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS - UK
International Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO)
INTILLA Asociacion Civil - Argentina
International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC)
ITPC India
ITPC Nepal
ITPC RU - Eastern Europe/Central Asia
Jovenes Feministas Universitarias - Honduras

La Coalicion Internacional de Activistas dn Tratamientos (CIAT) - Latinoamerica


La Red de Voluntarios de Amigos Siempre Amigos (RevASA) - Dominican Republic


Latin American and Caribbean Council of NGO with AIDS Services (LACCASO)
Latin American and Caribbean Women's Health Network (LACWHN)
LIGA Bonaerense de Diversidad Sexual - Argentina
Liga Colombiana de Lucha Contra el Sida - Colombia
Mujer y Salud - MYSU - Uruguay
National AIDS Committee - Guyana

Observatorio de Violencia Social y de Genero de la Sierra Norte de Puebla - Mexico


Partners in Health
Physicians for Human Rights
PLUS, International AIDS Coalition
Positive Action for Treatment Access (PATA) - Nigeria
Red Argentina de Mujeres
Red Argentina de Mujeres Viviendo con VIH-SIDA (RAMVIHS) - Argentina
Red Argentina de Personas Positivas (REDAR POSITIVA) - Argentina
Red de Personas viviendo con vih/sida- de Mar del Plata - Argentina
Red Latinoamericana de Catolicas por el Derecho a Decidir - Latin America
Red por los Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos - Mexico
Redlac - Honduras
RESULTS USA
Senderos Asociacion Mutual - Colombia
SIDACTION
STOP AIDS NOW!
Treatment Action Campaign (TAC)
Treatment Action Group (TAG)
West African Treatment Access Group
Women Won't Wait - Latin America


(1) Baker, B. The Long and Tortured Road to Adequate, Sustained, and Spendable Domestic and Donor Financing for Health. Available at http://www.icssupport.org/PDF/Discussion%20paper%20on%20Health%20Financing%20b y%20Brook%20Baker.pdf


(2) Grail Research, http://www.grailresearch.com/pdf/ContenPodsPdf/Global_Bailout_Tracker.pdf


(3)The full text of the declaration is available at: http://act.pih.org/page/s/declaration


Source: International Treatment Preparedness Coalition

CONTACT: Gorik Ooms, +27(0)727634603, or gooms@itg.be, Gregg Gonsalves,
+1-203-606-9149, or gregg.gonsalves@gmail.com, Kay Marshall, +1-347-249-6375,
or kaymarshall@mac.com, all for International Treatment Preparedness
Coalition

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